The Key to Happiness
by eorocks
Summary: Just a very short, sappy Christmas Eve story about Elliot and Olivia. Just a non smutty one shot.


Elliot lingered in the doorway, taking in the Christmas garland hung messily around the squad room and the small, decorated tree propped in the corner. The lighting was dimmed at this time of night, but there were pools of light at the desks of the few lower grade detectives that had been forced to work on Christmas Eve. It was startingly quiet…the mood hushed. He supposed that was a good thing, but it was such a stark juxtaposition to the chaos he'd just left behind in Queens.

Elliot's eyes continued their scan before landing on Olivia, sitting with her back to him at her desk. She wasn't one of the unlucky ones; she had volunteered to work as she always did, so that others could spend the evening with family. It was so typical…the kind of selflessness he saw from her every day.

Everyone else always came first.

Her head was bowed slightly, and from this angle, he couldn't tell what she was looking at, but it seemed to be holding her interest, as she barely moved as he watched her. He glanced at his watch…ten minutes to midnight. Her shift would be over soon.

One of the other detectives got up from his desk and Olivia lifted her head in reaction to the movement. She must have caught sight of him in her peripheral vision because she turned in her chair to look at him, a question in her eyes. Elliot gave her a big smile and sauntered over, stopping at the edge of her desk.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked. Her eyes scanned the room and then landed back on Elliot, as if she were searching for a reason for him to be here. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." Elliot said, using the same hushed tone as she was. He saw her concern ease, and she leaned back slightly in her chair, looking up at him, as if waiting for an explanation. "Quiet night?" He asked.

Olivia nodded. "Thankfully." She knew there would likely be calls in the morning; it was always like that during the holidays. Family gatherings weren't always a good thing. "Weren't you in Queens?" She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"I was." Elliot said.

"Did you and…" Olivia cut herself off from asking if he and Kathy had gotten into a fight. She knew that Kathy had invited him to spend Christmas Eve with her and the kids, despite the tension between the two of them, and that Elliot had appreciated the invitation, not wanting to miss that time with the kids.

"It was fine." Elliot said, reading her thoughts. "It was fun to spend the evening with the kids. I would have hated to miss out on that."

"I'm glad." Olivia said, giving him a small smile. She stretched her arms above her head; she'd been sitting too long. Olivia stood up, stretching her legs and her neck, and Elliot perched on the edge of her desk. "Why in the hell did you come back here?"

"I wanted to see you." Elliot said, and he saw a look of surprise on her face. She recovered quickly from the forward comment with a small laugh.

The conversation was interrupted by the two other detectives making their way out of the squad room and mumbling their goodbyes. Olivia and Elliot both responded the same, and she hoped fervently that they wouldn't get called in the middle of the night. When they'd gone, she turned her attention back to Elliot, intrigued by his comment.

"So…" Olivia turned her attention back to Elliot.

"So…what?" Elliot asked.

"You really drove all the way over here just because you wanted to see me?" Olivia asked, not wanting to let his comment drop.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

Olivia laughed lightly. "Yes." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "You just saw me yesterday." She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and waited him out.

Now it was Elliot's turn to laugh, and the sound seemed loud in the quiet squad room. "Yes, but I haven't seen you _today_." He emphasized and he saw her raise a brow. He pulled a small, flat box from his right jacket pocket. "And I wanted to give you your Christmas present."

Olivia saw the square, gift-wrapped present in his hand, and her breath caught in her throat. "We don't exchange Christmas gifts." Olivia said. She couldn't imagine why he had decided to buy her something, and what could possibly be in the package he was holding out to her now.

"C'mon." Elliot said, tapping her arm with the package. "Open it."

Olivia dropped her arms and accepted the package. She saw it was wrapped in paper peppered with snowmen and topped with a bright red bow. She looked at it before looking up at him. "Did you wrap this yourself?" She asked, noting the uneven edges and crooked pattern.

Elliot gave her an exasperated look, but it was playful. "Just open it." He saw the curious expression on her face, and he shifted slightly against the desk, suddenly nervous for her to open it. In that moment, he wanted to snatch it back, but he chided himself. He'd thought about this for a long time; it wasn't something he'd done on a whim.

Olivia tore at the paper slowly, feeling Elliot's nervous energy. She stopped and looked back up at him. "What is it?" She asked, feeling a smattering of nerves slide up her spine.

"You're driving me crazy." He said, reaching for the gift, intending to open it himself, but Olivia snatched her hand out of reach and tore at the paper. He saw the puzzled expression on her face as she dropped the paper on the floor and opened the lid. She looked up at him before looking back at the contents, and then lifted it with two fingers.

"You got me a key?" Olivia asked, holding it by the ribbon that held the gold key. She wasn't exactly sure what she'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been that.

"Well…" Elliot said, grinning at her. "I figured…you gave me a key to your apartment almost six years ago, and I've been living in my apartment a year now…sooo." He shrugged.

"OK." Olivia said slowly, stretching the word out, unsure how she was supposed to react. She slipped the key into her pocket.

"I want you to use it. Whenever you want. As often as you want." Elliot said.

Olivia furrowed her brows. _Was Elliot propositioning her? _"El…" She started.

Elliot knew her confusion had been replaced by surprise, and he took a deep breath, cutting her off. "I put in my papers Liv." He said it all in a rush, and saw her expression change again. "I've got 20 years in. It's time to move on…do something else."

Olivia's mind was reeling. "What?" Olivia gasped out. "What did you say?"

"I said I put in my papers. I'm retiring."

"But…" Olivia looked down, trying to recover from the shock. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She looked back up at him. "You can't." She said, shaking her head. "You can't do that." Her breath was coming in short gasps now. "What about me? Don't I get a say?" She knew she was seriously overstepping, but the thought of Elliot leaving was almost unbearable.

"I'm doing this for us." Elliot said hurriedly. He saw the denial on her face, and she was still shaking her head as she took a step back from him.

"No." She said.

Elliot lifted himself off the edge of the desk. "Listen to me." He said, reaching out and resting his hands on her shoulders. Olivia didn't pull away, but he could see tears on her lower lashes. "I'm doing this for _us_ Olivia."

"I don't understand." Olivia said, still focused on the fact that he was leaving her. Her eyes searched his, begging him to help her understand.

Elliot dropped his hands. "I'm retiring, so that someday soon…" Elliot pulled a much smaller box out of his left pocket and held it out to her. "I can give you this."

Olivia felt like all the air was sucked out of the room as he held the small box out to her. Her heart was beating frantically, and her eyes flicked from the box to his face. She saw those baby blues twinkling at her and a big grin on his face.

"Open it." He said.

Olivia swallowed hard, unable to speak.

"I'm not asking you now." Elliot said, hoping to ease the anxious look on her face. "But I need you to know…"

Olivia took a step forward, wrapping her hand around his…the ring box clasped between their conjoined hands. Her eyes dropped to his lips as she took a step closer, and then she felt his mouth ghost over hers.

"I love you." He whispered in the moment before he sealed her lips with his, kissing her slowly. Every moment of the past seven years had led to this one, and he wanted to commit it to memory. He reached up with his right hand, framing her face as they moved closer, sandwiching their clasped hands between them.

Olivia couldn't believe she was kissing Elliot…that he was kissing her. His lips were slightly rough, but the kiss was soft, filled with longing and words unsaid. She melted against him, never wanting this to end. But seconds later, Elliot pulled away slightly, and she opened her eyes to look up at him.

"Tell me that you feel the same way." He hoped she would repeat the same words he'd said to her, but he knew it was hard for her.

"I love you." She said, hearing the shakiness in her own voice. She repeated it, finding strength to say it more steadily, and was rewarded with a big smile on Elliot's face. She took a step back, their hands still clasped together. She turned his hand over, revealing the small box. She looked at it and then back up at him.

"Are you scared?" He asked.

Olivia took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Terrified."

"Do you want this now? Or should I hold on to it?" Elliot asked. He wasn't sure where her head was at right now, but he knew he'd hit her with a lot.

Olivia hesitated a second, but she knew she wasn't ready for that. "Hold on to it."

Elliot nodded. "For how long?"

"I don't know." Olivia answered honestly. "But I think you'll know when it's the right time." She said.

Elliot was happy to hear the confidence in that statement. Not if. When. He tucked it back into his pocket. "So…" He said.

"So…" Olivia said, shifting awkwardly on her feet. She couldn't get that kiss out of her mind.

"Can I give you a ride home?" Elliot asked, raising one eyebrow.

Olivia gave him a small, mischievous smile, and slipped the key he had given her out of her pocket. "How about we go to your place?" She asked. "I'd like to try out this key."


End file.
